Threats

Wildlife disease

Disease in wild animals is becoming increasingly recognised as an important problem for wildlife conservation. As wild places shrink and human populations expand, grazing animals such as cattle and goats, and domestic cats and dogs, are increasingly found in wild landscapes and even protected areas. Humans also transport live animals of all kinds around the world for trade purposes. As a result, diseases such as bovine tuberculosis and canine distemper move easily between wild and domestic animals, and pathogens such as the chytrid fungus responsible for many amphibian declines are spread from one continent to another. (Read More)